Leadership

Mr. Ihrie has over 40 years of industry experience as an innovator in satellite and terrestrial communication, computing, and information science, and a principal in seven startups. Mr. Ihrie has also helped build four national-scale business accelerators for the Intelligence Community, DHS, cybersecurity, and smart cities. In addition to being CTO, Mr. Ihrie is VP, Strategic Initiatives for the Commonwealth, focused on transitioning promising leading-edge technologies into practice for state and local government. The Virginia Strategic Initiatives portfolio includes Smart Communities, the Virginia Unmanned Systems Center at VIPC, the VIPC Public Safety Innovation Center, and the SCITI Labs program with DHS Science & Technology focused on public safety capabilities. Mr. Ihrie has a M.S. in Business from MIT, specializing in the Management of Technological Innovation, and a B.S. from MIT in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science.

Whitney Katchmark joined the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) in 2006. Ms. Katchmark leads the Water Resources department which coordinates multi-jurisdictional efforts in the areas of drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, sea level rise, coastal zone management and water quality. Ms. Katchmark received her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining HRPDC, she worked for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command for eight years. HRPDC is one of 21 Planning District Commissions in the Commonwealth of Virginia and represents the region's seventeen local governments. The purpose of planning district commissions, as set out in the Code of Virginia is to encourage and facilitate local government cooperation and state-local cooperation in addressing on a regional basis problems of greater than local significance.

Eric Keplinger, AIA has been with MEB General Contractors since 2005 and currently serves as Vice President for Business Development. Prior to MEB, Eric practiced architecture in New York City and Richmond before moving to Virginia Beach in 2000 to join a design/build firm as Director of Marketing. He received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Virginia Tech in 1989 and is a licensed architect in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Eric has served on numerous boards, including the AIA Virginia, Hampton Roads Chapter AIA, Design-Build Institute of America Hampton Roads Chapter, HRACRE, Virginia Beach Vision, Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance, and ULI Hampton Roads District Council. He is an active member of the St. Gregory the Great Catholic parish and lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, Bernadette, and four daughters.

Chuck Kirby is Vice President of Smart Communities at the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) in Herndon, Virginia. VIPC is providing national thought leadership, vision, and implementation of Smart Communities as a model for Community-Driven Innovation to harness leading-edge technologies that support the unique needs of individual communities. Prior to his current leadership position at VIPC, Mr. Kirby was a leader in Virginia’s statewide broadband expansion efforts, worked in local government administration, and taught Public Affairs in academia. His specializations include state and local government administration, public policy, government technology, and normative ethics in politics & administration.

Amy Parkhurst holds the position of Sr. VP of Business Development for the Hampton Roads Alliance. Representing 13 localities in the Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Williamsburg region, she is responsible for promoting Coastal Virginia for new business investment. Amy earned her B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley and her MBA from Columbia University. She is active in several professional organizations including the International Economic Development Council and the Virginia Economic Developers Association. Amy currently serves as a director on the board of the Coastal Virginia chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women and has been appointed to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s Advisory Committee on Business Development and Marketing.

Henry R. (Speaker) Pollard V is an attorney at Williams Mullen, in its Richmond, Virginia office. He brings a combined science and business education background to his practice, which is concentrated in environmental, water supply, wastewater and coastal resiliency law. He assists business, development, trade group, governmental and individual clients with issues such as water quality, wastewater, stormwater management, wetlands, water rights, solid and hazardous waste, Superfund liability, petroleum and chemical storage, brownfield and voluntary remediation, air pollution, energy production and renewable energy, asbestos and mold contamination, cultural resources, and species protection at federal, state and local levels. Mr. Pollard’s practice also includes compliance and permitting assistance, enforcement defense, water supply planning and contracts, property and business transactions, land use proceedings, and legislative and regulatory affairs. Another focal point of his practice includes coastal flooding and resiliency planning issues, responding to mounting community, business, and lender concerns about greater frequency and severity of flooding, related legal, land use and infrastructure risks and the need to mitigate such risks. Before entering private practice, Mr. Pollard worked for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Enforcement, where he led and coordinated statewide hazardous waste enforcement actions, developed administrative cases and conducted administrative enforcement proceedings, prepared enforcement policy and assisted with civil litigation and criminal enforcement and prosecution of environmental cases. Mr. Pollard is active in local and state bar environmental law sections and industry trade groups, and he frequently lectures on environmental and coastal flooding and resiliency topics. His community involvement includes board service for the Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition and serving as an elder in his church. He received his Bachelor of Science degree (Chemistry) from Hampden-Sydney College, and both an MBA and law degree from the University of Richmond. For more information, go to https://www.williamsmullen.com/people/henry-r-speaker-pollard-v

Kyle Spencer has been the City of Norfolk’s Chief Resilience Officer for the past year, and served as the Deputy Resilience Officer prior to this role since 2018. He has spent the last 15 years working to make Norfolk a more resilient city as a consultant and as a technology leader with the City prior to working in the Resilience Office. Kyle’s primary focus is implementing the City’s Resilience Strategy by managing complex water management, environmental, urban planning, and smart cities projects. While with the City, Kyle has been collaborating with regional partners on resilience innovations to support research projects with universities, and developing business solutions in the resilience sector by turning Norfolk into a coastal community laboratory. Kyle is a certified GIS Professional, and Certified Floodplain Manager.

Jessica Steelman is the Coastal Planner for the Eastern Shore region with the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission (A-NPDC). She has been in this role since 2019 and played a role in the development of the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan, managing and implementing dredge/beneficial use projects, providing localities with coastal management through technical assistance, and promoting ecotourism in the region. Most recently, Jessica was successful in receiving funds from the Community Flood Preparedness Fund to develop a region-wide community resilience and sustainability plan. This initiative will go a long way to increase capacity and identify resilience measures and needs at the local level.

Brian is the Manager of Comprehensive and Strategic Planning for the City of Portsmouth. He has sixteen years of experience as a planner, including eight years in his current position. His main responsibility is handling long range planning for the city. He graduated from William and Mary with a BA in history, and has earned a masters degree in Urban Studies from Old Dominion University. He lives in Norfolk with his wife, Jennifer, and two daughters, Madeline and Avery.

Toni is the Stormwater Engineering Center Administrator for the Department of Public Works at the City of Virginia Beach. As the Stormwater Engineering Center Administrator, she oversees two divisions: project management and technical services. These divisions are responsible for managing the City’s Flood Protection Program capital projects, which is the largest capital program in the City, as well as the sea level rise adaptation planning and stormwater master planning programs.

Toni has been with the City of Virginia Beach since May 2009 and is a Virginia registered professional engineer and a graduate from Old Dominion University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering.

Abigail is the Director of Partner Relations for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), Gubernatorial Appointee to the Board of Trustees for the Family and Children’s Trust Fund of Virginia, Vice Chair of the Marymount Alumni Board, and Adjunct Professor at Marymount University. Abigail is a Virginian native and first-generation college graduate and received her Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Marymount University, where she played lacrosse. She went on to receive her Master’s in Business Administration from DeSales University. Before moving to Richmond and starting her career at VEDP, Abigail served as Chief Operating Officer at the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Virginia. While residing in Southwest Virginia, she developed a love and passion for that area and its people, leading her to be involved in several initiatives across that region of the Commonwealth, ranging from youth programs to economic development. When not working, you can find Abigail trying a new recipe, watching football or basketball, traveling, and spending time with loved ones.

Scott Whitehurst joined the Virginia Port Authority in October 2015 after working in the environmental field for 20 years. As an environmental professional in Virginia, highlights of his career include working with the Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Beach Health Department, The City of Norfolk Department of Public Works, and the Southeastern Public Service Authority.

In his capacity as Director, Environmental Policy and Compliance, Scott leads a small but effective team orchestrating all environmental permitting and compliance activities, decarbonization efforts, as well as The Port’s ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.

He is actively involved in the local community through volunteering for several environmental cleanup and restoration events throughout the year.

Scott holds a B.S. in Environmental Geology from Old Dominion University as well as a Masters also from Old Dominion.